


Tattoo'd Heart

by bookwormywriter



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Intercrural Sex, Oral Sex, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:34:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21614629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookwormywriter/pseuds/bookwormywriter
Summary: The first time they met, she knocked him off his feet.  Quite literally.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Tattoo'd Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Characters featured within are original creations inspired by roleplay characters from a dungeons and dragons campaign. Olwen is based off of an Eladrin and Gadael is based off of a Shadar-Kai. This is my "what if they were normal people" idea.

The first time he saw her he was knocked off his feet. Literally. His bike slammed into a newspaper box as she turned, eyes following him, until he collided and skidded on his side. She’d made her way over, dressed in her burnt orange skirt and white turtleneck sweater draped with a beige and grey checkered poncho, and offered a hand up. 

“You alright?”

He stared at the offered hand for a moment before pushing himself up, wiping his hands on the sides of his peacoat before shaking it. “Yeah. Of course, thanks. That box, it just appeared out of nowhere.” 

Her eyes flicked to the bike and his gaze followed, thankfully the hit hadn’t bent the wheel. He looked back to her, then over her shoulder toward the shop next to his own that had movers trekking in and out with boxes and furniture. 

“We’re neighbours.”

“Oh?” She turned in place, still on the sidewalk, and turned her eyes along the two shops beside hers, on the left was a small alleyway gap between her store and the hair salon, and then to the right, where his baby - Light and Shadow Ink - stood, glass windows polished and showing off the tattoo parlor reception. “Ah.” Her eyes followed the line of brick that connected the building that housed their respective businesses - once a large warehouse that had been sectioned out. “Interesting. Do you live above yours as well?”

“Nah, I live just outside of the core, get my cardio biking in.” He pulled his bike onto the sidewalk before pulling out the lock to secure it to the rack. “What are you selling?”

She took a long sip from the cup in her hands and turned her attention back to the movers. “Books.”

“Nice. I’m Gadael, by the way.” He nodded his head, offering his hand to hers for a shake after pulling off his gloves. 

She eyed him a moment, eyes lingering on the tattoos on the backs of his hands snaking up under the sleeves of his coat, then drifted back up to his face. She didn’t take the offered hand but gave a polite, curt nod. “Olwen.”

Gadael’s fingers curled into his palm, slightly stung by the turn down of the handshake, peering up at her, with her heels she was just a few inches taller. “Well, I need to open and start getting set up. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

She gave another short nod of acknowledgement, tossed her cup away, and strode in long steps up the ramp of the moving truck and picked up a large moving box. He watched, slightly awed, as she easily made her way down the ramp and up the step to the shop interior with the box in her arms and heels on. Taking another long moment to watch, he ensured his bike was secured before beginning the process of opening.

\----

Three weeks went by and Gadael barely got glimpses of her. Slowly the shop interior and windows got more and more populated. One window was host to a set of comfortable looking high backed chairs and a table, the other slowly gathered a cat tower, a pillow, and a set of dishes, before it was painted with the phrase ‘no two people read the same book’ in neat, sweeping cursive. Then one day the cat tower was inhabited by a long haired black, white and orange calico cat. The day after that came a crisp wooden sign mounted over the door proudly proclaiming the place ‘The Reading Nook’ along with store hours on a chalk sidewalk board that also boasted promises of coffee.

Gadael stepped in during his lunch break. It was warmly low lit like most bookstores were, the walls lined with proper floor to ceiling shelves, rolling ladders, and then the middle section of the store had lower, chest high shelves and old milk crates jammed full of books. As he stepped in a soft bell chimed and Olwen, who was part way up one of the rolling ladders, turned her head and Gadael felt that same awed feeling hit his gut again at the prim, put together look of her; a warm brown dress today, with white loafers, her long hair pulled back but the added punch was a set of browline tortoise shell glasses. 

“Oh, hello. You’re from next door, right? Gabriel?”

“Gadael,” he gently corrected, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Thought I’d stop in, offer my congratulations, see what kind of things you have on offer. I saw the coffee offer and I’m on break, couldn’t say no.”

“Oh, it’s just a coffee pod machine with a donation box,” she rested the stack of books in her arms on the shelf and carefully climbed down the ladder. Crossing the store she proudly gestured to the small little coffee table with mismatched mugs and a shiny new machine, several different hot beverages on offer and a small fridge. It was fucking adorable, tucked next to the chairs by the window. 

“Smart idea. We used to do the same kind of thing, but it’s not allowed past reception and people got annoyed, so we scrapped it.” He moved to the table and took out a few dollars before stuffing them into the small lockbox and picked out a drink and mug, setting it up to brew. 

“You’re open quite late, I could hear a bit of noise through the walls when I was setting up at night. I thought it would have been more muffled.”

“Mmm, yeah, this all used to be one big factory lot, I think they did bottling for something? The wall’s kinda thin and we actually have an adjoining set of doors. We keep it locked, obviously, but it probably doesn’t help with the noise. Has it kept you up?”

“Ah, no. I don’t hear it upstairs. Just for the first three days I couldn’t figure out where the buzzing was coming from. I thought I had a wire loose.” 

Gadael offered a slightly awkward, apologetic smile and took his coffee, adding a bit of sugar, before taking a sip. “That’d be the iron, sorry, we tend to get a lot of people later in the day, five to nine is our busy time. But we’re closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Inventory and cleaning and also design.”

There was a soft noise and Gadael felt a soft brush against his leg and he flicked his eyes down and beamed at the sight of the cat gently pressing into his leg. He set the mug down and crouched, letting the cat sniff at him. “Hello there, what’s your name?”

“That’s Titania.”

Gadael scratched between the cat’s ears before glancing up toward Olwen, amused. “From Shakespeare?”

Olwen gave a slightly owlish blink and ducked her head, fingers awkwardly tugging at the hem of her sleeves. “Midsummer was my favourite work.”

“Was? Has it been replaced?” Gadael teased gently, watching as Titania trotted off into the stacks and rows of books.

Olwen tutted and clucked her tongue before eyeing Gadael a moment, still playing with the ends of her sleeves. “I may be having a tryst with the Tempest.”

Gadael stood slowly, picking up his coffee again. “Your secret is safe with me.” 

Olwen took a few steps toward the table, adjusting and restacking the mugs. “Do you have a favourite?”

“Of Shakespeare? I mean Hamlet is a classic, but really, I’m a huge fan of Twelfth Night.”

Olwen smoothed out the tablecloth and turned, brow quirked interestedly. “Really? Not many people pick that one.”

“Mmm,” Gadael said by way of response as he took a few long sips of the coffee, rounding around Olwen to wander toward some of the books. “It’s a compelling story and I like the way it’s transitive about gender.”

There was a long moment of silence and Gadael glanced back to Olwen, head turning as he realized she’d started to stride back toward the ladder and move up it. He tilted his head a moment, uncertain, licking his lips.

“I have work to do, you’re free to finish your coffee but I need to finish with these books.”

Gadael’s brows knitted in confusion at the sudden clipped nature of Olwen’s voice. Sudden concern twisted inside of himself as he thought about his words and the brisk reaction - was Olwen conservative? Had he offended her in some way with his ‘big city’ thinking. He idly brushed his hand through his hair, still lightly tinted with a pastel lavender, then looked to one of his hands with chipped royal blue nail polish. 

Fuck.

Fuck.

He looked toward Olwen, who was almost angrily stocking books, to her prim, conservative dress, and then back at his well fitting dark jeans, but knew he was covered in tattoos and piercings, dyed hair - hell, she hadn’t taken his hand when he offered it once she knew he had tattoos.

He left his coffee unfinished on the table, settling uneasily in his stomach as he stepped out of the store.

\----

After about a week of stewing confusion and discomfort Gadael decided to take a look at the social media for Olwen’s store led him to her personal page - Olwen Vale - new to the city. Originally from the backwoods of nowhere. Pictures that weren’t locked showed a sprawling ranch backing onto woods, horses, a gaggle of dogs, a large family photo - at least four other siblings, two that looked a bit older with kids of their own - and at least two male figures with a penchant for hunting. Solo photos of her were of her with various animals - an old, raggedy looking wolfhound; a pond of ducks; a sleek grey dapple horse; laying in leaves with a set of cats. Every once and a while there was a photo of random things; hiking boots in jeans on a forest trail, painted nails around a mug, and stacks and stacks of books.

He would have the luck of getting an instant crush on the girl-next-door type who was completely conservative and didn’t want to look at him twice. Whatever. He could still be respectful and if she did anything rude, well, then he’d just cut her off. She wasn’t going to change who he was and his enjoyment of wearing what he wanted regardless of apparent societal roles. 

Hell, he decided to wear his new ankle boots and skinny jeans with an oversized sweater today just to empower himself. There was something about a four inch wedge heel. He fish-braided his hair and pulled on a sheepskin jacket before biking off to work. 

One of his favourite clients was coming in today to get colour added to her back piece and he was determined to be in a good mood for her. 

As he pulled up the parlor he coasted in on his bike and swallowed the immediate giddy feeling at the sight of Olwen, who seemed to be arriving and unlocking with groceries. She paused in her sorting through her keys, eyes lingering on him for a moment and Gadael offered her a pleasant smile and half wave. She returned the wave and nodded before jamming her key into the lock of the shop before stumbling in with her bags.

That hadn’t been so bad. Polite, it seemed, was feasible.

\----

“Gadael?”

Gadael looked up from where he was wiping down his tattoo bench and pulled off his latex gloves as he tossed out the paper towel. It was close to closing and he was doing a final wipedown of his station, though he knew he’d be doing one in the morning as well, it still helped with the anxiety and thoroughness. It had been a long but satisfying day, with almost a three hour session with his client getting their back piece detailed and coloured.

He tilted his head at the sight of Olwen in a simple heather grey sweater and black pleated skirt, looking rather uneasy. “Can I help you? Do you want to book an appointment?”

“Oh, um, no.” She offered a quick smile at that and then unhooked the tote bag from her shoulder and reached inside it before pulling out a book with a soft teal colour to the cover. “I wanted to give this to you. I figured you may have a copy but --” She extended the book toward him and Gadael pushed himself forward on the rolling stool.

He took the book from her hands curiously, turning it in his own and the first thing that caught his attention was the pictograph of a woman, then after a moment realized that her face had both a mustache and a lipsticked mouth and above her was the title Twelfth Night. He stared at it for a long moment before his lips quirked into a smile. 

“I like the cover.” 

“Thought you might. I…” Olwen cleared her throat and then tucked a lock of hair that had fallen loose behind her ear. “So, this is your shop.”

“Yeah. Normally there are two other artists, but I usually open and close. This is my station.” Gadael introduced, wheeling back on his stool and motioning to the section of counter, knick-knacks and art pieces.

Olwen stepped forward, avoiding the bench, and examined a few of the stencils and photos posted. “You’ve got quite the range of style. I like this one,” she pointed to a picture of what looked to be ivy crawling up a trellis. 

“That’s one of the first ones I got done by our newest hire.” Gadael answered. “Here, let me show you.” 

“You don’t -- oh.” Olwen paused in turning at the sight of Gadael easily peeling his henley over his head and turning a bit so she could see the sneak of the ivy along his side before working onto her back. It was in thick black ink. Her eyes darted over the art, then over the other pieces on his back and shoulders, his back and arms seemed to be covered in different pieces of an ever-changing canvas of images, quotes, and the like. “You don’t have anything in colour.”

“Black stands out against my skin, and touch-ups are easier, and less chance of ink bleeding on large pieces.” Gadael replied, shrugging his shoulders and readjusting his shirt before pushing the sleeves up to the elbow. “Never really wanted colour on anything. I like the contrast of light and dark.”

“Like with the store name. You like the vacillation between extremes.”

Gadael opened his mouth to reply before nodding, sucking idly on his lip piercings to keep from saying something stupid. 

“Do they hurt?” Olwen asked, crouching a bit to look at the raven on the inside of his arm, just below his elbow.

“Depends. It varies from person to person and where you get it and what kind of ink.”

Olwen hummed thoughtfully and nodded before looking up toward Gadael with a hint of a smile. “Thank you, for showing me. You’re free to stop by and borrow coffee whenever you want, I’ll make you a deal, if you tell me an interesting enough story behind any of these,” she motioned toward the tattoos, “I’ll let you skip the donation.”

Gadael matched her smile. “Deal.”

\----

They settled into an easy routine, every Monday and Tuesday after Gadael finished inventory and the like he’d stop in for a coffee, time with Titania and a story. Sometimes keep Olwen company as she stocked after closing. It was an easy pattern to fall into. A comfortable routine that they both enjoyed. Eventually Gadael’s tattoo stories turned into stories about stories of going to art school and dropping out, which turned into stories from Olwen and her literature major, her masters in Early Modern English literature and fascination with Middle Eastern poetry and literature. Her disdain for the Bronte sisters and Dickens. 

One night after closing coffee turned into a bottle of red wine and a rant about Byron’s romanticism and Gadael realised that he was doomed. That he was going to end up kissing this girl in the middle of a story about symbolism in Gothic Romanticism. He was waiting, eyes locked on her face in the low light, almost glowing under the street lamps filtering in, and licked his lips, steeling himself.

“--and that’s why -- Titania, dammit!” 

A crash sounded off from by them and Olwen darted up. Gadael’s shoulders slumped and drained the last of his glass before standing from the comfortable chair. 

“I’m going to order an Uber to get home.” 

Olwen turned, arms full of her squirming cat and her cheeks were flushed from the wine, eyes hooded and she nodded slowly. “Probably a good idea, we’re already going to regret the wine in the morning.” 

Gadael lingered a moment before scratching under Titania’s chin, thumbing his phone with the other hand. “I had a good time, we should do this again sometime.” 

“Definitely.” Olwen walked him to the door before locking it behind him. 

He watched her silhouette as she picked up the empty wine bottle and glasses and shooed the cat toward the back door that led to her upstairs apartment. The lights in the store turned off and after a moment the lights upstairs flicked on. From his vantage point waiting on the street he saw her watching him from the window, they waited together, silently watching each other, until he climbed into the car and waved goodbye.

\----

The almost kiss haunted him and lingered in his mind. Gadael kept turning the moment over and over in his mind like a smitten teenager. Durdana, his co-owner and aunt kept teasing him about it whenever he lamented to her. She’d smirk around her whiskey before patting his arm in a non-conciliatory manner and tell him to just fucking do it already. Then she’d take a long sip from her glass and change the subject - usually toward how much drama was happening in the family and God was she glad to be done with all that relationship bullshit. 

For a mid-fourties Latina she complained like someone half her age, sometimes. More often than not it was about Gadael’s father, or uncles, or on the rare occasion, someone not in the family. That was usually related to work. She was a cold-hearted bitch of a lawyer and took pleasure in just how good she was at her job.

Right now her chastising came in the form of text. Tearing into Gadael, whose ride had fallen though, by way of saying that she wasn’t a goddamn taxi service - I live across town, just order an Uber. It was too cold for the bike and his friend who lived in same building who carpooled with him ended up having something come up with family, and Gadael was debating going to the bar down the street and drowning his misery or just following Durdana’s advice. Or calling another friend. 

He tugged his coat around him tighter and huddled in tight on the bench, glowering at the phone. He heard some noise from behind himself and turned, slightly distracted, to look toward it. The door to Olwen’s shop opened and in the dim light he could see her hunched over, drawn into herself, and dart across the street toward the pharmacy. After a few minutes she returned, not really paying attention, but the posture spoke volumes. As she drew in closer, the street light caught on her and Gadael realized that the clothes spoke even more. He’d never seen her anything but put together and she looked… different. Stuffed into a pair of boots for the cold and an oversized hoodie that was pulled over -- was that a onesie?

“Bad day?” Gadael questioned, turning a bit more fully toward her. 

She stopped in her tracks at his voice and turned to look at him, her hair was falling into her face, thick glasses askew on her nose, hood pulled up to try and shield her. She stared at him for a long moment and for a moment he could see the panic flash over her face, likely at the fact she’d been seen at less than her best. She nodded mutely and then toted up the bag.

“Ice cream therapy.” Her voice sounded hoarse, like she may have been crying, and Gadael’s stomach twisted into knots. “Why’re you here?”

“Ride fell through, waited almost an hour.”

She made a noise in the back of her throat and shifted her weight. “Wanna come in? Warm up? I have a couch you can crash on.”

Gadael opened his mouth to decline the offer, not wanting to impose, especially since she seemed to be having a bad day, before he stopped himself. Maybe that was why she was offering. She wanted company. He offered a small nod. “Sure. As long as you don’t mind.”

“Nah, c’mon.”

The sweep through the store was quick and Olwen led him up the stairs above the store and into the small entryway. He followed her lead in taking off his coat and shoes and then stepped into the apartment proper. It was hardwood and a pretty large studio with a small bedroom off to one side, kitchenette and bathroom. He expected it to look similar to the store, but it wasn’t, it was more deep reds and browns, the same deep, plush looking furniture, though. It was clear she’d set up refuge in the living room. A laptop was sitting off to the side of the couch where a blanket was bundled, Titania was occupying a nearby soft chair, and the TV was playing some kind of sitcom. 

“Nice, homey.”

“Thanks, sorry it’s a mess. Today’s been...” She shrugged and made a wavy motion with her hand before pulling up the hood of her onesie up. It seemed to be a bear of some kind, or maybe a cat. 

“No worries, where do you want me? Anything I can do?”

“Make yourself comfortable away from my corner of the couch and find something to watch. I think I may have sweats if you wanna change.”

Gadael nodded at that, he doubted she had anything that would fit his form, she seemed so slight. Still, the offer was nice enough. She came back in, now wearing fuzzy slippers, with a bundle in her hands. “These should fit, may be a bit too long or too short a bit, but…”

“It’s wonderful, thank you.” Gadael took the offered clothes and stepped into the bathroom to change. The clothes fit fine, the bright pink pajama pants were a bit short around the ankles but had a string to adjust, and the t-shirt was oversized anyway. He folded and tucked his own clothes away before joining her on the couch. The laptop had been moved aside and a second blanket was on the couch, Gadael settled in, surfing through the channels. Partway through the search Olwen’s feet ended up in his lap and he found himself unable to care.

He finally decided on old I Love Lucy episodes and turned his attention to Olwen, who and opened her ice cream and started taking spoonfuls. “Wanna talk about it?”

She sucked on the spoon before shrugging and took another bite. “Family drama. I don’t want to go back for the holidays, they don’t like it, also just having a shitty day all around.” 

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

Olwen shook her head. “Not right now. Thanks though.” 

Silence, save for the show elapsed as Olwen finished her treat and put it aside, closing it so the cat couldn’t get at it, and Gadael let his attention wander over the decor. The photographs on the walls of family and likely friends, most of them were of people Olwen probably knew but there weren’t a lot with her in them, save for a small few.

“Hey -- can I ask you a question?” 

Gadael turned his eyes toward Olwen, who was thumbing through her phone. “Of course.”

“Do people ever misgender you?”

Gadael’s brows quirked, that seemingly came from nowhere. “Not particularly. I’ve never really felt attached to any label for myself, so I suppose once I learned to accept that I learned to stop worrying. That’s not to say I don’t… have my days. But that’s more personal than social. I tend to get a kick out of people not being sure. Any reason you ask?”

“Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t being an asshat without knowing.” Olwen replied, looking up toward Gadael. “I tend to use the singular they when referring to you to others.”

“That’s fine, like I said I’m not atta-- you talk to other people about me?”

Olwen rose a brow and looked to Gadael with a half-smile and nodded her head. “Some of my siblings, they’ve been checking up on how I’ve been settling in. I told them you’re a talented artist and one of the first people I met in the city. I mean, we’re sort of friends, aren’t we?”

Gadael was quiet as he thought about the question and found himself nodding in agreement. It had been a bit of an awkward start. “Yeah. I guess we are, I guess that means we should talk about more friendly things, huh? How many siblings do you have?”

“Four. Two older, two younger. What about you?”

“Three. I’m the youngest.” Gadael took a long pause, fingers toying along the fuzz of Olwen’s slippers. “I was born on the summer solstice.”

Olwen let out a short laugh, tapping at his fingers with her foot. “No way. We’re opposites, I’m a winter solstice baby.”

Gadael tapped back against the sole of her slippers, attention turning toward the TV for a moment. “Let me add you…” He fished out his phone and pulled up his contacts, holding it out to Olwen, who tapped in her information along with adding her social media contacts and did the same for him. “This makes our friendship official.”

Olwen smirked, eyes turning to her phone a moment. “Whatever will people think?”

\----

It was later in the day when Olwen stepped into the tattoo shop, a woman with brown hair and light highlights was behind reception, offering a warm smile. “Hi, welcome to Light and Shadow, can I help you?”

Olwen shifted awkwardly before the desk, flicking her eyes toward the back of the parlor, sectioned off by a low wall with saloon style doors. The sounds of tattoo machines were evident over the low, ambient music. “I’d like a consultation.”

“Of course, do you have one of our artists in mind? If not I have the portfolios you can look over.”

“Uh,” Olwen sucked in a breath. “I was thinking Gadael, is he in?”

The woman nodded her head. “Yeah, he’s just getting a piece touched up himself, he should be almost done. If you take a seat I’ll let him know someone’s waiting.”

Olwen moved to the chairs and sat down as the girl disappeared behind the saloon doors. Olwen pulled out her ereader and set her bag down to keep herself busy while she waited. About fifteen minutes passed before a shadow fell over her chair and Olwen looked up, offering a smile at the sight of Gadael. He was in a sleeveless shirt, knotted on the side of his body to be a midriff, his exposed torso had a large section of it covered in clear plastic and taped down, close to the creeping ivy, it was a patch of wallflowers at the base of the trellis and Olwen’s eyes flicked over them. They were fresh, skin around them slightly swollen and red, and… 

“I thought you didn’t get colour in your tattoos. You said it can bleed.”

The colour of the blossoms was a light, warm amber, poking from the small patch of grass. 

“I thought a spot of brightness would be nice. I have so much shadowing, I thought I should bring some of the light in.”

Olwen rolled her eyes at the play on the shop name but smiled.

“Enough about that, Vicky said you were looking for a consult? Follow me to the office and we can talk.”

Putting her things in her purse, Olwen stood to follow Gadael through the saloon doors and to the office on the right, Gadael closed the door behind them and eased himself down on the couch along the wall, pulling over a sketchpad and series of pencils. 

“I never thought of you getting a tattoo, but I’m happy to give you a consult. It’s non-obligatory, so you can shop around or change your mind. No pressure. Do you have something in mind or did you want to design something..?”

Olwen made a small noise in her throat and pulled out her phone, punching in the passcode, and sifted through images before turning the screen to Gadael. He unknotted his shirt, pulling it down to hang over his jeans and then leaned in, eyes running over the offered image, five differently designed and fletched arrows facing in alternating directions. 

“Arrows?”

“My family is big into hunting, I never got into using a rifle. Plus it’s something my mother used to say to me, that if you think of yourself like an arrow, when it seems like you’re being held back it’s because you’re about to launch forward.”

Gadael smiled a bit at the idea. The thought of Olwen - who today was boasting a soft navy pinafore with a grey sweater - in the woods hunting. “I can definitely do that. The design may be a bit different since I’ll need to freehand it. Do you want it in greyscale?”

Olwen’s fingers clenched tight at the case, thumb rubbing at the side of her phone in a slightly nervous tic. Gadael looked to her face, ready to reassure her that she could walk out whenever she wanted - but her eyes caught his and she very slightly shook her head no. He nodded silently, giving her a moment, turning his attention to the sketchpad in his lap and opened it to start loosely sketch things out.

After the preliminary designs were done Olwen’s finely manicured nails tapped at the arrows in order from top to bottom. “Just the fletching coloured. Blue, pink, white, pink, blue.” Her voice was low, almost a whisper, before her hand curled away to sit in her lap.

Gadael stopped in his sketching to write the colours down in order without pause, making a note in sloppy half-cursive. He was partway through the note when his eyes lingered back on the colours he’d written as requested. He knew that order. He had a magnet flag of it on his fridge next to his rainbow one. He turned his head to look at Olwen, who was very pointedly staring at the flash sheet pinned to the far wall, fingers twisting in the soft bag in her lap. 

“It’ll look beautiful. Do you know where you want it?”

Olwen looked back to him, mouth slightly parted, eyes shining with tears, and gave a wordless nod. 

\----

Two days later the delicately coloured and fletched arrows sat on the inside of Olwen’s wrist.  
Three days after that Gadael finally asked her out.

\----

“I never imagined you for a pet person,” Olwen murmured, crouched to look at the tank of his blue-tongued skink, watching Gadael gently pull the lizard from under his log.

“Unconventional is my life’s goal, you’ve been working next to me for almost three months and you’ve never noticed.”

“I noticed when by way of introduction you slammed bike-first into a bank of newspaper boxes because you were staring at me.” Olwen replied dryly, holding her hands out to take the offered animal. “What’s their name?”

Gadael was quiet for a moment, staring at her unblinkingly. “You knew I was looking at you?”

“Either that or you purposely did it in a strange attempt to greet me.”

Gadael let out a soft laugh, showing Olwen how to hold the skink. “This is Popsicle. He’s actually pretty snuggly.” Olwen rose her hands up, putting the skink to eye level and stuck her tongue out at him in greeting. It’s own tongue flicking out in response. Gadael couldn’t help the fond smile and noise that left him. “You’re going to kill me.”

Olwen turned her eyes toward him relaxing her pose. “You’d deserve it for not kissing me that night with the wine.”

Gadael scoffed, throwing his hands in the air. “I still wasn’t sure, you were sending a bunch of confusing signals. I thought you were conservative. I saw a few of your social media things and you were kind of standoffish and I thought it was because --” He gestured toward himself. “Gender identity - elfin.”

Olwen let out a slight snort of her own and then gently set Popsicle back in his home and secured the lid. She used the hand sanitizer beside it on her own hands and turned back toward him. “Alright, let’s try introductions again.” She stuck out her hand. “My name is Olwen Vale, my pronouns are she/her, I’ve got a bookstore next to yours.”

Gadael sanitized his own hands and then took hers. “I’m Gadael Drasaedi, my pronouns are he/they, I’m a tattoo artist and painter.”

Olwen offered him an easy, bright smile. “There. Now we can actually relax and have a good time on this date.”

Gadael let out a sigh of relief and tugged her in lightly by the hand to hug her around the middle, she returned the hug with a gentle squeeze. They seperated and Gadael tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. “Only took three months.”

She patted his bicep. “To be fair I wasn’t making it easy, I was really concerned about passing. I had facial feminization surgery about a year ago and this is my first time away from the shelter of home. I…” She fiddled with her braid, sweeping it over her shoulder and lazily tugging at the end. “Remember that day with the onesie?”

Gadael nodded, thinking back on it now, her questions about pronouns, he smoothed a hand over her elbow. “Someone misgendered you that day, didn’t they?”

“Yeah. I’d been dealing with paperwork and -- it just sucked. When I went to log onto my chat I saw that an old person from high school had found me through my brother’s profile; he was boasting about the store and what not, they basically dead-named me and said my brother only had two sisters and --” She sucked in a breath and looked toward him. “Hence the onesie and ice cream.”

“Please tell me you dealt with him.”

“My brother ripped him a new asshole, but all I could think about was what if a customer somehow saw the post on the store’s site before it was removed, and it spiralled. My dysphoria hasn’t been that bad in ages, but it was just a sudden reminder of everything.”

Gadael heaved out a breath and took both of her hands in his, squeezing lightly. “You’re a strong woman and I know you don’t need my help or support, but you have it.” 

She looked at him for a long moment before nodding her head. “So, what are we doing on this date, oh Unconventional Elfin Creature?”

Gadael grinned and winked. “Well, to be honest, I was thinking some video games, maybe some movies, there’s a great Thai place near here that delivers.”

“As long as you don’t mind me bumbling my way through some stuff.” 

“Teaching you and then you eventually one-upping me is the best part.”

\----

Olwen had ridiculous hand-eye coordination, which meant that with the few short tips and tutorials she was thoroughly kicking his ass in the game. And making the opposing team mad with her apparent ‘hacks’, but the best part about it, was the way she played - leaned forward, one leg tucked under the other, brows knitted in concentration and chewing her bottom lip. Proper Olwen, who never slouched, hunched over her console controller, holding it in a completely foreign, but functional way. Olwen who had worn an oversized sweater that kept slipping down her shoulder and jeans. 

Fuck, he was so doomed.

After the match ended, Olwen turned toward him, tilting her head when she caught him staring, and offered him a smile. “I told you, I hunt with my family. It’s a bit different but --”

“You’re amazing.”

Olwen paused in her rambling and ducked her head, pressing her face into the shoulder of her sweater and tugged on the ends of it with a soft ‘oh’. She looked back up at him and shifted on the couch so their knees were pressed together.

“Well, you make me feel it.” She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning to look at him. “So, ditto.”

Gadael let out a slow breath and slowly took her hands in his, rubbing along the sides of her palms before raising her hands to kiss over the knuckles. She watched him intently but didn’t stop him, slipping a hand from his to cup against his cheek and stroke. 

It was a strange feeling, like they’d been dancing around it for ages, even though it hadn’t been all that long. Like they were meant to be in this moment. Always. In every possible lifetime. Her mouth quirked up into a smile and she closed the distance, pressing against him in a kiss.

Gadael had always thought the feeling of electricity you heard about when being kissed was bullshit. That feeling of free-fall. Romantic notions for books and movies, but the noise startled out of him when she kissed him was real, sharp and genuine. His hand clutched at the one of hers still entwined with his and the other cupped the back of her head, desperate for a kind of balance and link to reality.

She drew back after a moment, eyes fluttering open, mouth turning up in an almost coquettish smile. “Hi.”

He looked at her and let out a slightly aborted laugh, fingers tangled in the loose wave of her ponytail. “Hi.”

“Games are nice and all, but I’d really like to make out with you if that’s cool.”

How could she sound so cool and collected? Gadael nodded once, then again more enthusiastically. “I support this turn of events.” 

“Thank God.” Olwen carefully placed everything aside before moving to climb back in his lap. “I know I act it sometimes, but I promise I’m not a delicate flower. I… I mean it’s kind of a weird time to bring this up but I’ve had partners before so you don’t have to worry about eggshells and if you do anything dysphoric I’ll let you know but honestly --”

Gadael gently pressed his fingers against her mouth to stop the rambling and gave her an easy smile. “You don’t have to justify anything, or give me a reason, I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment I saw you. You don’t have to put up a facade for me.”

Olwen let out a slow breath and nodded once before kissing the center of Gadael’s palm until he drew his hand away. “It’s scary how easy you make things seem.”

“Life surprises you, now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to finally take down your ponytail so I can bask in your beauty.” He carefully undid the hair tie and combed his fingers through her hair, enjoying the way her eyes hooded at the attention, and kissed the corner of her mouth. “There’s something unfairly sexy about seeing you outside of the skirts and dresses. Behind the walls.”

Olwen shifted a bit, knees hugging around Gadael’s thighs. “Well, we fae folk need to ensure safety with each other before we let go of all our secrets.”

Gadael warmed at the endearment, at the way she included him, at the fact that they were both outside of the norm together. No more walls; no more pretending to be an average human. Just an easy acceptance of fluidity and self. 

Her hand still on his cheek slipped down under his lip to rub at his spider bite piercings. “And these - I’ve thought about.”

He quirked a brow and then smirked, gently scraping his teeth against the pad of her thumb. “Happy to oblige these thoughts.”

She leaned down, pressing their noses together, fingers tapping at his jaw. “Good.”

\----

They’d moved into Gadael’s bedroom at some point and he’d lost his shirt, allowing Olwen to contently trace along the lines of his tattoos with curious and greedy fingers. She seemed to enjoy a long string of Elvish along one of his biceps, carefully drawing her fingers along the lines of it and circling over the phrase with the very tips of her fingers until his skin broke out in goosebumps and he was holding her wrist, mouth chidingly pressing to the palm as she smirked up at him. 

Pushing up on her elbows she moved to rest against the headboard, pulling the stupidly teasing sweater up and off before drawing him in by the neck to kiss. It was clumsy as Gadael couldn’t help the slight stare at her before their mouths connected. He let his eyes close again, giving a groan when Olwen’s nails scraped over his scalp and her tongue playfully pressed into the warmed metal of his piercings. When he pulled back she gently tugged at them with her lips and his hands grabbed at her hips, unable to help the smile when she laughed as she was yanked down slightly, skidding on her back, hands pressing to his shoulders.

“Seems like your sweet spots are obvious,” she teased, letting her nails trace along the lines of his collarbone to allow her thumbs to meet by his throat. 

Gadael moved down, slow but deliberate, eyes locked on hers before he ducked down and pressed his lips to her throat. She hummed approvingly and squirmed when he gently traced a line over her throat with his tongue, eyes lifting to her face again as he bypassed her bralette and kissed below the lacy band. She gave him a small half-nod and he nuzzled against her chest, thumbs travelling along her ribs toward the waist of her jeans and back again in unhurried caresses. 

He paused for breath as he settled on his stomach between the open vee of her legs, still lazily kissing and stroking over her abdomen, grinning when he found ticklish spots that made her jump and squirm. He bit at one and was rewarded with an aborted slap and a pillow slammed into the side of his shoulder and head.

“Ass!” Olwen’s voice was slightly breathy and his gut twisted with warmth and desire. 

He reared up a minute onto his knees, pressing a kiss to her mouth again, then turned his eyes and attention to a small, puckered scar below her navel, running up a bit. “Anything I should be worried about?”

“Nah, appendicitis. I think it makes me look cool.”

Gadael made a wordless noise of agreement and traced his thumb along it before moving back to settle between her legs, pressing his tongue flat to the scar, unabashed. Olwen inhaled and one of her hands twisted into his hair at the odd sensation of warmth and pressure against the scar and the sensitized skin surrounding it. His hands closed around the fastenings on her jeans, pausing for a brief moment before popping the button out and sliding the zipper down. She rose her hips to help as he wiggled the jeans down and followed down the length of her to pull them off before settling back on the bed, caging her in with his arms. 

“How we doing?”

“Pretty well, thank you.” Olwen replied softly, eyes roaming over his face. “You’re very attentive, I’d be annoyed if it wasn’t so damn endearing.”

Gadael kissed at her jaw, stroked her cheek with his knuckles. “I’m a pleaser, it’s just who I am as a person.”

“Oh?” Olwen quirked a brow, tilting her head. When he nodded at the question. She smiled and lightly pressed at his hip with her knee, kicking against his shin with the same action. “Well then get pleasing.”

Gadael rolled his eyes slightly and pressed his mouth to hers before tossing his hair over his shoulder. “Yes, ma’am.”

He slipped easily down her body, once again taking his position between her legs, his hands smoothed over her hips, thumbs trailing along the waistband over her boyshorts. Lacy to match the bralette. One of his hands came down to caress her through her underwear, mouth moving to her thigh to kiss and bite as he rubbed. 

Olwen inhaled sharply, one of her hands grabbing at the pillows and the other twitching by her side as she rolled with the touch and let out a shudder and a sigh as nervous tension and excitement seeped from her at the easy, sure touch. She let her eyes slide closed as she relaxed with a content noise while he teasingly - fucking bastard - kept petting her. He shifted, moving her with him, so quietly confident in his actions.

Gadael hooked his fingers into her underwear and pulled it down smoothly, grabbing an extra pillow to tuck under her lower back as he positioned himself. He rubbed at the line of her pelvis and kissed the skin, biting at the top of her thigh and enjoying the way her whole body jolted with the action and the hand by her side moved to his shoulder to grip. 

“You’re a goddamn tease.” She groaned, eyes cracking open to look at him and let out a soft curse at the sight of him, contently splayed between her legs, guiding one of her knees over his shoulder, still taking his time. “I won’t stay hard, but trust me that doesn’t mean I’m not into this because you’re a fucking sight.”

Gadael preened and gave a noise of acknowledgement at the words as his tongue trailed from her thigh. He mouthed and nuzzled against her, one hand circling her shaft and stroking before holding the base as he guided her cock into his mouth. Her hand spasmed against his shoulder and her knee tightened around his shoulder, he used a bit of leverage from being firmly pressed to the mattress to rock forward. 

He gently pressed his tongue against the folds of her foreskin, one hand remaining circled around the base and the other massaging and stroking up and down her thigh. He bobbed his head, suckling when he reached the head and fully delighting in the reedy and breathy noises it caused before slipping back down. He took his time, pulling back to mouth over the length of her, nuzzling in as she distractedly petted his hair and murmured under her breath. He wanted to learn the tricks to make this as enjoyable for her as he could, to find new things she didn’t even know about. 

Rubbing under the glans with one thumb, Gadael sucked around the base, dragging lower to her perineum and then back up again as her body bowed off the bed with a sharp, bitten out sound of his name. He repeated the action, tongue flicking and then pressing in pulses against the skin as his hand stroked, careful of his piercings he mouthed and sucked against skin of her scrotum and couldn’t help a soft chuckle when there was a sharp inhale and - ‘holy shit’ - before a hard shake of her thighs. 

Moving back up he revealed the glans with an easy roll of his fingers against her and pressed the broadside of his tongue against the crown. Closing his eyes with a contented moan he fed her back into his mouth, tongue pressing here against the roof of his mouth as he swallowed. 

“‘M gonna come,” she rocked up against him, her hand dropping from his head to the hand that was lazily drawing circles inside her thigh. 

Gadael gave a soft noise, settling in so his nose was pressed into the patch of pubic hair and suckled. She thrashed under him, clenching hard at his hand, rolling her hips up against his mouth. Her whole body bowed up, froze, and then shook as he felt her twitch against his tongue with a dry orgasm. He stopped sucking but held her in his mouth a few more beats before swallowing one final time and drawing off of her. He wiped at his mouth and chin with his wrist as he moved up onto his knees. 

She was sprawled, resplendent, against the pillows, one hand half woven into her own hair and clenching at the pillow above her head. Her eyes were hooded and she watched him move with a hazy smile, the hand still holding his squeezing gently. 

“Thanks,” she whispered, voice slightly uneven.

“For what?” Gadael asked, moving to lay beside her. 

“That mouth of yours.” She pressed a kiss to his lips and stroked over his jawline. She rolled onto her side, one of her hands dropping to his hip, patting gently. “Lay back for me.”

Gadael moved with her instruction, stretching out on his back and allowing her to pull off his jeans, she tossed them carelessly behind her and turned attention back toward him after also pulling off her bralette since they were about to be on all equal footing, anyway. She offered him an appraising look and shuffled forward on her knees, hands curving around his hips.

“Seems like I wasn’t the only one hoping to get lucky tonight.” Her index finger snapped against the waistband of the panty-briefs he was wearing. In a cheery buttercup yellow with floral lace. “I like them.”

“I have like twelve more pairs.” Gadael replied, hands slipping up her sides and cupping under her breasts. “This, though, that’s a surprise.” He murmured, thumbs rubbing under her areola and flicking against the two barbells through either nipple.

She rolled her eyes and lowered her mouth to his, sucking at his own piercings a moment, flicking her tongue against them. “Fraternity pledge.”

Gadael let out a throaty laugh. “No shit?”

“Mmm,” Olwen replied in answer, pulling at the waistband of his underwear, “lift that cute ass of yours, please.”

Gadael did as asked and kicked his legs so they were free of underwear sooner before stretching out. “You don’t really have to do much of anything, honestly, I’m pretty worked up.” 

“Was thinking about letting you fuck my thighs, honestly.”

Gadael let out a noise like he was wounded and found himself nodding eagerly. “I’m definitely good with that. My lube is in the second left side drawer.”

Olwen crawled over the bed after stealing another kiss and opened the drawer, pushing aside the contents and pulled out a bottle, shaking it slightly. “I think you’re too low, you have more?”

“There’s a box under my bed, should have more.”

Olwen shifted a bit, hanging over the side, one hand braced on the floor and peered toward Gadael. “If this is a cheap way of staring at my ass I’m disappointed in you.”

“It’s not, but that is a perk.”

Olwen rolled her eyes and peered under the bed before spotting what seemed to be an attache case and pulled it out by the handle and moved it onto the bed with a small grunt. “Toy chest on a first date, I’m honored.”

Gadael propped himself up on his side and watched her with a faint smile. “Hey, we got through the heavy stuff, we can have fun now.”

Olwen peered toward him and returned the smile before opening the case and looking through it, it wasn’t anything too unexpected - a few extra boxes of condoms and dams, some nitrile gloves in ziplock, a set of sturdy looking cuffs, and a few insertables that seemed to mostly be made of metal and glass. She picked out two boxes of lube and read them both, one seemed to be a warming lubricant and the other was flavored; both were the same company that seemed to thrive on eco-friendliness and all natural, vegan friendly products as well as being hypoallergenic. It was pretentious and endearing and seemingly fitting. 

“Blackberry fig?”

“It was the only one left in stock aside from pina colada and I don’t like the taste of coconut.”

Closing the case and moving it back to safety, Olwen opened the packet for the lube and unsealed it before screwing the top back on. She tasted it and made a soft, approving noise before moving back toward Gadael, who was still watching her fondly. 

“Want to be on your side or on top of me?”

“On our sides seems nice.” 

Olwen set the bottle down within reach for both of them and moved to cuddle up with Gadael again, kissing him easily. It was almost scary how easy so much of this was with him. How the odd three months of push and pull and unsure footsteps was just for this moment. She smiled against his mouth, flicking her tongue playfully against his. “Worth the wait?”

“Fuck yes.” Gadael replied, cupping her cheek as he pressed their lips together. 

Olwen let her eyes slide close as she pressed against him, rubbing lazily, enjoying the sharp inhale as she pressed their hips together. He was wonderfully hard against her, his erection hadn’t seemed to flag too much and it was dizzyingly complimentary. 

She clicked the lube open and poured it into her palm as she turned her head, almost dropping the palmful and the bottle when Gadael bit at her clavicle. She retaliated with a gentle squeeze to his cock as she slicked him up and then applied more lube to her thighs. It was a bit of work but they managed to get him tucked between her thighs as she clenched them and his hips rabbitted forward.

He shallowly fucked against her, unhurried as he seemed to be with everything, and cupped one of her breasts with a hand, before lowering his mouth to her nipple. She ground up against him, one hand moving to cup his ass and encourage his thrusts as he sucked at her, tongue flicking over the barbell she sported. 

It was hard to think and do much but mindlessly grind his hips into the slick tightness of her thighs. Gadael moved his mouth from one of her breasts to the other as they ground together and he rocked his hips back and forth. 

“You feel amazing,” Gadael gasped, pressing his forehead against her chest, panting softly. 

“So do you, you’re so hard, and you’re gonna come for me. You must’ve thought about it; wicked thing you are, thought about coming all over me. Messing up all my nice dresses…”

Oh that wasn’t fair. Gadael let out a wheeze and pressed his face against her throat, desperate to try and keep himself composed for at least a bit longer. 

“Or maybe all over my glasses as I look up at you?” Olwen pressed her mouth to his ear, tugging gently at the plug and laughing softly. “I’d let you. My pretty boy.” 

It was like a white heat in his mind, his world started to narrow to the feel of her against him and the drawl of her voice. Her hand scratched near the join of his ass and thigh before disappearing and there was the distinct sound of the lube opening and then closing and he could feel her hand slip between their thighs a moment and then away. Gadael was close and desperately tried to cling on. Her hand slipped back to it’s perch on his ass, slick with lube and her head turned, pressing a fierce kiss to his mouth and he whined, hand clutched into her hair and at her hip. Her hand moved - warm and slick - and his mind blanked out as two fingers pressed down against his hole, ever so gently massaging. He came with a shudder and a hoarse sob of her name as she kissed over his face. 

Gadael took in a few deep breaths, floating in the warmth of her embrace, as he came down from the high of his orgasm and pressed a few kisses to her shoulder. She pressed a few kisses to his temple in return and he gave a wordless hum of thanks and happiness. 

After a few minutes of laying entangled, Gadael pulled back and shifted a bit, stretching fully. “Let me get us some water and a cloth.”

“Good idea.”

He moved off and got two bottles of water and then a warm cloth to wipe them both off. He put on his bedside table once they’d cleaned up and then moved them both around, pulling the covers up as they snuggled in. They drank in silence and settled on something to watch for background noise. 

Gadael watched as Olwen fished her phone from her jeans and fiddled with it before kissing the top of her head. “What did I do to deserve you?”

Olwen paused in whatever she was doing to look over her shoulder. “Have a tattoo parlor next to a place for lease at a ludicrously affordable price.”

Gadael laughed and combed a hand through her hair and kissed her shoulder again. “Thank god for good business decisions.”

“Mhm. So my parents want you to come over for Thanksgiving.”

Gadael paused in taking a sip of his drink. “Pardon?”

“They’re happy I made some friends outside of the trans bowling group and lgbt book club I joined, and I said we were going on a date, they said if it went well to bring you to Thanksgiving since if quote ‘this guy who you’ve had on your radar makes it through a date with you then dinner with the rest of us is a cakewalk’.” Olwen replied with a grin. “It’s a trial to see if you’re not too much a city boy and to see if you’re good enough to join us for the weekend we go hunting for my birthday.”

“You’re lucky I’m not a vegetarian anymore, your family would explode.”

“They’d just serve you green beans with bacon and not understand because it’s a vegetable.”

Gadael snorted before taking another sip of his drink and shook his head. “So how exactly did a Midwestern hunting family with a ranch even --” He trailed off and flapped his hand in a wordless way to say ‘you know’.

“My dad’s family is originally from the west coast, my dad moved there after becoming a veterinarian and got offered a job at my grandfather’s horse breeding company. He met my mom there, she was a competitive rider. My older brothers went to school in big cities, married and moved away, I stayed local, thought I was going to inherit the ranch, really wanted to, but I don’t have the same way with animals as my younger sister. I love them, but I don’t really have the Vale vet genes. I’m more into the outdoors in a hiking, fishing and hunting way. Sporty way..” She paused for a long minute. “I came out as trans just after high school, I stayed local because my parents wanted to support and monitor my transition. Wanted me to be in a safe, loving environment. My oldest brother is a civil servant and really helped out. I don’t know where the open-mindness came from, but I’m so thankful for it. There’s really only a few people on my mom’s side that took it hard.”

Gadael brushed his finger through her hair. “I’m glad.” He sucked in a breath, thinking a moment. “My family’s kinda the fun in dysfunctional.” 

Olwen shifted a bit, looking toward him. “You don’t have to share, it’s not a quid pro quo.”

“I know, but…” Gadael shrugged a bit. “I’m close to my aunt and my mother and that’s about it. My father and I have a functional and civil relationship, but it’s not really an emotional one. He and my mother got divorced when I was young, then he remarried twice more.”

Olwen gave a wordless nod of understanding and wrapped her arm around Gadael in a squeeze. “Well, everything considered I think we both turned out pretty alright.”

Gadael nodded his head and settled down. “Do I have to wear a suit?”

“Hell no.” There was a pause for a moment, then Olwen looked to him. “That would be a nice sight sometime, though.”

Gadael’s fingers traced down her arm and circled around the tattoo at her wrist before grasping her hand and pressing his face into her shoulder as his pinkie finger hooked against hers. “Okay.”

Olwen turned her head and kissed the tip of his nose. “I adore you.”

Gadael’s mouth curled into a lazy smile as he yawned widely. “Ditto.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have a tumblr [here](https://a-little-bit-of-ultra-violence.tumblr.com) and a twitter @bookwormywriter where you can contact me and flail. You can also send me prompts. _please_


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